Literacy Council of Montgomery County, MD
Handout #5
Rev. 2/12/15
The Adult Learner
Characteristics of Adult Learners
 Goal oriented; their choice to learn
 Practical; learning must be immediately applicable to their life and goals
 Bring their life experience to learning
 Learn best by doing the work
 Independent
 Motivated; ready to learn
 Respectful of the teacher
 Mature
 Have multiple demands on their time; many responsibilities
 May be tired, less attentive
 May be long out of school or learning situation, may need to reestablish study
habits
 Can be rigid
 Embarrassed to fail
Learning Styles
Understanding different learning styles is key to a student’s and tutor’s success. Use
your student’s learning style to enhance his/her comfort level.
1. Print - A person who is print-oriented usually learns best through reading and
writing.
2. Aural - A person who generally learns best through listening is apt to like lectures
and remember what was said.
3. Interactive - Individuals who learn best through verbalization are usually called
interactive. They like to talk and discuss ideas and they like small group
discussions.
4. Visual - A person who is visually oriented learns best through observations and
visual stimuli such as pictures, slides, graphs, and demonstrations.
5. Tactile - a person is tactile if the sense of touch is used for learning. This involves
"hands-on" approaches.
6. Kinesthetic - a person who is kinesthetically oriented learns best while moving
about in activities such as role-playing or those involving physical motor skills.
Literacy Council of Montgomery County, MD
Handout #5
Rev. 2/12/15
Cultural Differences
Definition of Culture
A set of beliefs, values, customs and traditions of a group of people in a particular place and time.
Cultural markers
Cultural markers help tutors to be aware of how our students’ cultures differ from American culture.
Aspects of culture that might be different:
 Sense of time - is punctuality important?
 Style of dress
 Rest/siesta
 Observance of national/religious holidays - for us, for students
 Formality
 Personal space - what is the custom?
 Gender roles
 Gestures - for hello, good-bye, yes, no, etc.
 Treatment of elderly, children
Give your students the opportunity to discuss some of these topics. They will serve wonderfully for
generating conversation, and your students will be pleased to be asked about their own countries. If it
becomes an issue, help students understand the appropriate behavior in a particular situation. Some
situations cause more confusion than others. Examples: saying hello/goodbye, job interviews (shaking
hands/eye contact), making excuses/apologies, accepting/giving gifts, the importance of punctuality.
Likewise, the students’ experiences with education in their own country can help or hinder their
education in this country. It helps for a tutor to ask about attitudes toward education in the students’
countries, including male and female roles.
Enculturation
Teaching our students about American culture so they can “fit in” is another important aspect of cultural
differences. This encompasses a number of issues such as child-safety rules, worker rights, job, school
culture and sports, general rules of politeness (not inquiring about someone’s salary, politics or religion,
for example. Some immigrant parents are dismayed to find how much money, time and effort are
required for school sports teams, for example.
Stereotyping
It’s important not to stereotype. All Asian countries, for example, by no means have the same culture.
Should “the American culture” be described as “loud, impatient, rushed, informal, materialistic,
outgoing, competitive?” Do these words describe you, or do they stereotype?
Note also that in one larger culture there may be many sub-cultures. In the U. S. we have different
cultures inside the Beltway, in Hollywood, Texas, down east Maine or in corporate settings like IBM
(conservative, formal) and Silicon Valley (liberal, informal). Even in one family there may be different
beliefs and values. No country has a single culture.
Be an Ambassador!
You will be a good cultural ambassador if you take the time to ask your students about their cultures and
show respect for the differences you discover. We aim to help our students understand American
culture, not to imply its superiority.
Don’t forget to read the Culturegrams about your students’ countries. You will find it in your Student
Assignment packet.